DRAFT ER
DRAFT MINUTES SUBMITTED BY LISA KREPICH ON 1/11/14. TO BE APPROVED AT GENERAL
MEMBERSHIP MEETING ON 2/12/14.
EMES PTA
General Membership Meeting
Wednesday, January 8, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
MINUTES
Attending:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Angie Tomaszewski
Lisa Krepich
Deirdre Rommelmeyer
Dan Lani
Mike Pellegrino
Maureen Kirk
Chris Rawls
Shantell Evans
9. Courtney Gatlin
10. Chandra Bittner
11. Matt Giamporcaro
12. Michelle Taliaferro
13. Carol Sierra
14. Marty Kazmierczak
15. Juana Kazmierczak
16. Julie Sprinkle
Call to Order - Angie Tomaszewski, President, called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Approval of Minutes- Lisa Krepich, Secretary presented the Minutes from the November 13, 2013
General Membership Meeting. Motion for approval was made by Maureen Kirk, and seconded by
Matt Giamporcaro. Minutes were approved without change.
Report of the Executive Committee - Juana Kazmierczak, Treasurer, presented a Treasurer’s Report
representing cash flow from 12/11/13 to 1/8/2014 highlighting that Box Tops generated a large
income of $1,700, and our After School Enrichment Fall Session had one large reimbursement of $900
which should complete that session’s transactions. Our current cash balance is $41,899.23. A second
Financials report is a new template form that came from VA PTA showing our actual cash numbers
against our Budget. We are doing fairly well – one note is that Innisbrook income should go up when
we receive internet sales proceeds. Lisa Krepich made a motion to approve these reports, it was
seconded by Michelle Taliaferro. Motion carried.
Report of Standing Committees
 Outdoor Classroom Project Committee – Shantell Evans, Chair. The OC Committee is currently
working on the design of the classroom and will next get that approved (by both EMES PTA
and LCPS facilities management who will need to approve all blueprints). Our budget of
$6500 will almost certainly need adjustment. In December, they held a Lunch and Learn for
the teachers most closely involved and found them very receptive and helpful with new ideas
for the classroom. A company to manufacture bricks for the decorative walkway has been
identified. The plan will be to sell bricks to donors for $100, which will give $86 back to EMES to
invest in the OC. The committee hopes to use the walkway plan as a visual to generate
excitement and show our progress toward our fundraising goal. Another opportunity
discussed is a tile wall (tiles selling for $50 a piece). The GREEN KIDS grant application is nearly
complete. The committee is hoping all requirements will be outlined and complete by the
end of January 2014 in order to break ground by Earth Day in April.
 Communications & Marketing Committee – Michelle Taliaferro reported that there have been
small jumps in readership for our Python Post Its and the monthly newsletter format has been
well received. We currently have 335 email subscribers through Constant Contact (74 of
which are staff). In contrast, Mr. Pellegrino has 540 emails for EMES families and staff.
Communications will work to create a procedure for receiving changes of email address from
EMES families through the front office. The next electronic newsletter will be distributed
1/15/14.
 Volunteer Committee – No Report.
 School Events Committee –
o Family Bounce Night (TOMORROW, 1/9/14)
o Skate Night is 1/25/14.
o Bedtime Stories coordinator, Carol Sierra gave an outline of her committee’s plans for
the event coming up on 2/7/14. The school will have a PJ Spirit Day and the event
begins at 6:30pm.
 Outreach Committee – Sally Dunleavy, Chair requested feedback on holding another Used
Book Sale during this school year. The fall sale made $220 which represented approximately
400 books being “reused” by excited recipients. The teachers have been especially
supportive of another event. It was suggested to hold a second sale in conjunction with the
Spring Bingo For Books on 3/28/14. Our Thanksgiving food drives were very successful, as was
the Leesburg Giant food drive. Upcoming Outreach projects include ASEP scholarships and
creating a snack closet for teachers.
 Ways & Means Committee – Maureen Kirk, Chair noted that fundraising donation letters
generated approximately $1300 and we will continue to send Sponsorship opportunity letters
to the community specifically for the Outdoor Classroom’s fundraising efforts. Courtney Gatlin
presented information from the 1/6/14 meeting of the Silent Auction Committee. It was
decided that we will hold a Silent Auction in conjunction with the Family Movie Night on May
16, 2014. It will include fewer items than in the past, but improved quality. More teacher and
administration time prizes will also be offered. A second “parents only” event will be planned
at another venue to use the Bittner’s donation of a Robbie Schaefer performance. Scheduling
for this event will be determined once we decide on the goal of this event – either fundraising
OR PTA membership recruitment. The committee will solicit feedback and propose a vote at
the next General Membership Meeting.
 Membership Committee – No report.
 Education, Arts & Athletics Committee – Julie Sprinkle noted that our After School Enrichment
Program Registration begins 1/10/14. The Winter session will be held on Mondays and Fridays
beginning 2/3/14 and going through 3/17/14. This session features 10 club options on Mondays
and 8 options on Fridays, this time including some outside vendors as well as parents and
teachers leading. This registration will also be done online through Sign-up Genius and we are
excited to see how this works – it could mean a much easier workflow. Our co-chairs have
done an amazing job! Fall participation was up 58%! For Winter, we are offering 10
scholarships to be considered and awarded by Mr. Pellegrino. Julie also announced that the
Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents will meet on January 15th at the LCPS Administration
Building in Ashburn to discuss the 2014/2015 budget and all parents are welcome to attend.
 Staff Support Committee – Lisa Krepich, Chair thanked anyone who participated in
December’s Staff Cookie Exchange – it was a great success and we thank Laurie Williams for
coordinating.
New Business
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Dominion Trail Math Tournament – The PTA will post information on this event through Facebook and the
website but will not formally sponsor a team from EMES.
VOTE ON PROPOSAL: $382 for a set of 6 historical fiction novels for the fifth grade. This supports the
new/ongoing reading program being led by the school reading specialist, Sherry Brogan. The program
may be replicated for each grade level. The total expense may reach $3000 for K-5. After a short
discussion, a motion was made by Maureen Kirk to approve a new EMES PTA Budget line item called
“EMES Reading Program” in the amount of $3,000. The motion was seconded by Julie Sprinkle. Motion
carried.
VOTE ON PROPOSAL: $853 for the replacement Morning Show computer. From Mr. P: "[The Morning
Show] keeps students, staff updated with current information and events at Evergreen Mill. It also
advertises upcoming events and recognizes students [mostly 5th graders.] This computer would also be
able to support the monitor [the PTA] has been talking about putting in the school lobby." This computer
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would need no additional PTA resources for shipping, installation or maintenance. After a brief
discussion, Chandra Bittner made a motion to approve this expenditure. Seconded by Sally Dunleavy.
Motion carried.
EMES PTA elected not to participate in the Shenandoah University Teacher of the Year. Another
competition may be explored.
Michelle Taliaferro volunteered to serve as EMES representative on the Confidential Stakeholders
Advisory Committee (CSAC) that is being established to assess semifinalist candidates for the new LCPS
Superintendent.
,Announcements and additional business

Next PTA General Membership Meeting: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.

SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR CASH FLOW ANALYSIS held its first meeting on Monday, 1/6/14 where jobs
were divided up. The electronic vote from 12/9/13 was officially ratified.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR FINANCE PROCESSES IMPROVEMENT held its first meeting on Tuesday, 1/7/14
and approved a work plan. They have requested and received 5 years worth of past PTA financial
records and will begin analysis. The process should take approximately one month. The electronic vote
for this committee from 12/9/13 was also ratified.
OPEN POSITIONS PLEASE CONSIDER:
1.
Vice President for next school year
2.
Co-Chair Silent Auction and/or Robbie Schaefer Event
3.
Outdoor Classroom Grant-writer
4.
Outdoor Classroom Fundraising Chair
5.
Spiritwear Chair
ASEP Registration begins 1/10/14.
Mathmagician Assembly is 1/24 and all are welcome to attend this PTA sponsored event.
Bedtime Stories is 2/7/14.
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Adjournment. Lisa Krepich moved to adjourn. Seconded by Juana Kazmierczak. Motion carried
and the meeting ended at 8:33 p.m.